Tuesday November 27

Yesterday had mixed weather around the lake, including wind, rain and a dusting of snow. The weather for today will be cloudy, with a high near 25 and a low around 19 degrees. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible and nighttime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Yesterday afternoon Governor Hogan announced an executive order to establish an Emergency Commission on Sixth District Gerrymandering to fulfill the order issued on November 7th by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The Governor has appointed three members of this nine-member multi-partisan commission which will convene immediately to meet the district court’s requirements. Garrett County is in the Sixth District and current and future boundaries will impact citizen “clout” statewide.

Cyber Monday continues to be an important part of retail holiday spending in the US. According to projections from Adobe Analytics, yesterday was expected to bring in $7.8 billion in sales this year, and will be the single largest online shopping day in the U.S, eclipsing Black Friday ($6.22 billion) and Thanksgiving ($3.3 billion). As we await final numbers, please, please remember our local small businesses.

The County Commissioners yesterday announced the agenda for their next board meeting on December 3rd. The agenda includes road a road naming, hazard mitigation updates, business park land sale and a legislative update. The meeting is, as usual, open to the public.

“Safe Schools Maryland” is a tip line and mobile app designed to streamline reporting of possible threats to students and school facilities. Anyone can anonymously report information via a mobile app, online at www.SafeSchoolsMD.org, or by calling 1-833-MD-B-SAFE (1-833-632-7233).

The Deep Creek Lake area has large natural wonders and also many small ones. We have kept this hollow log in our garden area to provide shelter to little critters. When I went out to check on the garden Sunday, I noticed a mushroom had grown on the top of the opening, providing a little “awning” for any inhabitants. There’s also some mushrooms visible on the inside. A little mini-ecosystem for our small friends.